United States Congress Joint Committee on Taxation

On Sunday, President Obama went on the offensive against the carried interest tax rate. In a nutshell, this tax break allows super-rich hedge fund managers to sidestep a large portion of their tax bills with Wall Street slight of hand.

The Senate is bracing for a tax-cut showdown that is all about Democrats and Republicans showing voters their differences over taxing the well-off while accusing each other of threatening to shove the government over a fiscal cliff.

Republicans are claiming that "the largest tax increase in American history" will hit at the end of 2012, when a long list of tax cuts will expire unless Congress acts. Only problem is it's not really true.